Guest editors’ introduction: Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia: Traditions in Transition

This special issue is structured around six case studies from China, India, Japan, and Malaysia, conducted by scholars from Asia, Europe, and America, with interdisciplinary training in folklore, anthropology, and ethnomusicology. We combine both top-down and bottom-up approaches to illuminate various discourses and practices surrounding the definition, listing, and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) within particular social, political, cultural, and economic contexts in Asia. The key themes that emerge across the six case studies include: (1) an Asian paradigm of the safeguarding of ICH; (2) listing, nationalism, and the reification process of ICH; (3) international, national, and local politics surrounding ICH; (4) the interplay of ICH, tourism, and economic development; and (5) ICH and communities in discourse and in practice. This special issue will contribute to a broader understanding of the intersection of global policies and on-the-ground practice in cultural transmission and heritage protection as well as vernacular perspectives and ideas of tradition and heritage within local communities in Asia.